1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for moving tubular parts of submarines, which comprises actuating elements or means comprising at least one pair of linear motors.
2. Description of Related Art
It is known in the technical sector relating to submarines that there exists the need to raise outside the water, when the submarine is at periscope height, a certain number of sensors of the passive and active type such as radar and/or radio antennas, optronic heads and the like which are normally housed inside the tower (or sail) of the submarine and, when required, are displaced vertically by suitable hydraulic raising devices until they emerge outside the free surface of the water situated above the tower.
It is also known that these vertical displacement apparatus must: operate in a particularly silent manner in order to avoid identification by means of acoustic sensors; be able to withstand the underwater pressure which is produced at the navigation depth of the submarine; and resist corrosion by the seawater and be able to raise the sensor support tube, overcoming not only the weight thereof, but also the friction produced by the hydrodynamic thrust of the water, owing to the movement of the submarine, on the tube sliding guides said transverse thrust being mainly responsible for the overall resistance to displacement in the vertical direction.
For this purpose, in the art apparatus which envisage the use of oil-operated actuating systems are known, these, however, requiring a hydraulic system comprising among other things a pumping station with consequent constructional complications and an increase in the need for maintenance in order to prevent the oil from being contaminated by water infiltration.